Revised

Jiang Luo opens his eyes to a dense crowd of mourners crying before him.

Everyone in black, backs of heads to Jiang Luo. He pauses, glances around in the eerie atmosphere, but the moment he moves, the mourners in front abruptly stop, whip around to stare at him, their black eyes bulging like fish eyes, brimming with displeasure: 'Why aren't you crying?'

Jiang Luo finds the dream amusing. He smiles, squeezes out a tear, smears it on his finger for them to see. 'I'm crying.'

The people watching him turn away, resume their 'wah wah wah, wah wah' crying, rhythmic.

Outside, a fine rain must be falling. Wind and rain veil the daylight, dampness pours through the window, a thin white mist.

Someone beside him says: 'Jiang Luo, Chi You-ge is dead. You're happy about it, aren't you?'

Jiang Luo turns toward the voice, but before he can see who spoke, his gaze is caught by black hair slipping down his shoulder.

Hair to his shoulders, dark and gleaming, falling as smooth as silk. Jiang Luo reaches out to brush a strand aside, then notices a small mole on the back of his left hand, vivid red as fresh blood.

The vicious voice beside his ear continues: 'Jiang Luo, got nothing to say?'

Jiang Luo looks up and finally sees the speaker's face.

The speaker is a strapping, handsome young man—designer clothes, five-figure sneakers, eyes blazing as if he wants to devour Jiang Luo alive. He scoffs, his voice sinister: 'I know you're the one who killed Chi You-ge. When Chi You's Seventh Day Return comes, we'll see how you talk your way out.'

The name Chi You sounds familiar to Jiang Luo.

A few days ago, he'd just learned of a novel taken down for being too bloody—The Evil Spirit. Curious how bloody it could be, he'd gone through hell to find the original text. The protagonist's name was Chi You.

The Evil Spirit tells of the protagonist uke, Chi You, killed by a cannon-fodder character, then cultivating revenge with the help of the protagonist gong, Feng Li.

The cannon fodder who killed Chi You happens to share Jiang Luo's name. After death, Chi You becomes a vengeful ghost, tortures the cannon fodder with every cruel method until he begs for death, and on the day he finally dies, the cannon fodder is torn apart by five horses, not an inch of flesh unmarred.

Jiang Luo's brow twitches. He turns sharply—and sees his reflection, blurred, in a pale celadon vase nearby.

Shoulder-length hair, proud brow and eye, striking features—beautiful yet fierce. A face like vermilion and azurite in an ink painting, every brushstroke heavy with a blade-sharp, invasive beauty.

The face is nearly identical to Jiang Luo's own, except his real features are gentler, lazier—not this rose-and-peony lushness.

He doesn't have hair this long, doesn't have that bewitching red mole on his left hand, and has never killed anyone named Chi You.

Jiang Luo pinches himself hard. It hurts.

It takes him a moment to accept reality: this is not a dream. He's transmigrated.

Into the novel that was taken down for its blood and horror.

Jiang Luo's heart goes cold.

'What are you doing?' the guy beside him presses, still unhappy. 'Jiang Luo, don't stall. If you really didn't kill Chi You, then dare you go burn incense for him?'

This is a funeral hall, spacious. White chrysanthemums and lilies piled on either side of the coffin, dewy and alive, lending the funeral a wedding-like prettiness. Near the coffin, the dead man's family still weeps, dabbing handkerchiefs to their eyes—but the grief on their faces is hollow, a poke away from collapse.

The funeral dirge drifts toward the ceiling, pressing down like a mountain, stealing breath.

The strapping young man goads: 'Go on, Jiang Luo.'

Jiang Luo remembers the name—this strapping young man is his classmate, Lu You. He probes: 'Lu You, why do you think I killed Chi You?'

Lu You laughs coldly, voice low: 'Others might not know, but I do. Jiang Luo, you and Chi You-ge had a falling-out just days ago. When Chi You-ge died, you were the only one at the scene. He was healthy—died suddenly, no reason. You think that's fucking normal? Don't play your pretty-boy tricks on me. I don't buy it.'

In life, Chi You was gentle and kind; those at the funeral mostly held him in goodwill. Lu You's words are fierce, but he keeps his voice low—clearly for Jiang Luo's sake. Clearly a soft-hearted good person.

Soft heart means easy to fool.

Jiang Luo says earnestly: 'I really didn't kill Chi You.'

His eyes sincere as can be—but the original host was too unlikeable. Lu You gives a fake smile and shoves him toward the coffin.

Jiang Luo walks to the coffin, helpless.

The coffin lid isn't fully closed. The young man inside looks serene, as if not dead but merely asleep.

Chi You has thick brows nearly reaching his temples, eyes closed beneath them, lashes long and curled like a dark thicket. A high nose bridge, full nose root—a face of rare beauty. But his lips are pale, his skin carries the lifeless sheen of death, lending him a strange, sickly allure.

The longer one looks, the heavier the wrongness. Something uncanny and world-weary surfaces in those features; the gentle, peaceful curve of his mouth turns false, the dissonance so sharp the corpse radiates a madman's twisted, deranged air.

Just as the novel described—false and terrifying. Chi You is, after all, Jiang Luo's favorite character.

Jiang Luo stares at Chi You's body, lost in thought.

He remembers, a few days ago, liking Chi You so much he'd carved out time to write a three-thousand-character review on a forum, praising at length how ruthless and hypocritical Chi You was.

The moment the review went up, Chi You's readers tore him apart.

[LMAO did the OP even finish the book before calling Chi You fake? Fake your mother.]

[Elementary schooler has free time again—wouldn't it be better to do your homework than write three thousand words of this?]

[Wuwuwu my heart aches for mama's good boy, how can my precious son be so unlucky? After death his personality did get ruthless, but that's because he was killed by bad people. The change is the villains' fault—how can you blame Chi You?]

[I think it's clearly the OP who's fake and sinister. The world looks like what the viewer is. The Chi You in OP's eyes is just another version of OP.]

Jiang Luo had been baffled. Chi You's hypocrisy was so surface-level, a truth he could see at a glance. Fine if characters in the book were fooled—but why couldn't readers outside the book see through it?

How could Chi You possibly be gentle and kind?

A joke. The kind that, remembered, would have Jiang Luo doubled over laughing.

But he doesn't laugh. Before him lies the dead Chi You, and behind him a crowd watching him like hawks.

And one more crisis, imminent: Chi You will become a vengeful ghost and kill him.

He's arrived at a terrible time. Earlier, and he might have prevented Chi You's death.

But the die is cast. No time for indulgence—he must find a way to dodge the cannon fodder's death.

Maybe his imagination, but the air around the coffin is growing colder.

Perhaps, he thinks.

Perhaps Chi You has already become a vengeful ghost—and is in this very hall.

Probably just his own fear, but the atmosphere around him suddenly turns eerie and sinister.

Jiang Luo actually likes Chi You as a character—but only on the condition that he isn't the one being avenged.

He doesn't want to die.

Jiang Luo is a landscape designer. Before transmigrating, he'd been busy with a municipal project; because of the workload, he hadn't finished The Evil Spirit—but he understood Chi You's nature perfectly.

Chi You is a madman. Toward anything that doesn't interest him, his methods are cruel, merciless. To survive him, one must make Chi You take an interest.

No—can't stake everything on that madman. Jiang Luo also needs to clear his name. He can't protect himself now, so let those who can do it for him.

He needs the living on his side—so that even if Chi You comes for him, people will fight Chi You to protect him. The safest method.

In the original book, even Chi You needed the protagonist gong's help to take revenge. The dead cannot contend with the living.

But winning over the living takes time—and time is what Jiang Luo lacks.

The more dangerous it gets, the calmer Jiang Luo's mind. But suddenly, an involuntary shiver.

A chill pierces flesh into bone. His sense of danger screams: something is very wrong.

As if something is approaching him, less than an arm's length away.

Survival instinct hits its peak. Jiang Luo jerks—and drops to his knees with a thud.

The impact forces blood to his eyes. Tears spill like broken beads down his beautiful face.

Jiang Luo's voice catches. 'Chi You, why did you leave me?'

Amid the surrounding weeping, his act draws little attention.

'Chi You…' Jiang Luo covers his face, voice fading. 'Please don't die…'

Lu You, watching the show, frowns. Why is Jiang Luo crying now?

Jiang Luo's voice is low, hard to hear. Lu You is puzzling it over when a beautiful boy carrying a rabbit plush walks up behind him—the plush's eyes are vivid, eerily alive. The boy asks: 'Lu You, why is Jiang Luo crying?'

This is their classmate Ye Xun—a cool, aloof beauty who seems uninterested in everything except gossip.

Lu You raises a finger: 'Shh. Let's go listen quietly.'

Jiang Luo notices them approaching.

Seizing the moment, Jiang Luo chokes out: 'Didn't you say you liked me? Why are you leaving me now? I regret rejecting your confession. Chi You, I've only just realized—I love you too.'

Jiang Luo's weeping is moving, his emotion genuine.

The chill around him pauses, just slightly.

Lu You and Ye Xun freeze in place.

'Please don't leave me,' Jiang Luo sobs. 'I won't believe you're dead. I'll find your killer, I'll find a way to save you… I'll bring you back to my side.'

His voice is low; Lu You and Ye Xun catch only the first few lines. Seeing Jiang Luo finish crying, they quickly retreat.

Jiang Luo rises slowly, looking down at Chi You in the coffin.

In The Evil Spirit, the cannon fodder's killing of Chi You was inexplicable. After Chi You turned into a ghost, he was even different from an ordinary Livid Ghost. Other Livid Ghosts have complete souls, full hands and feet, but Chi You's soul was cut into several pieces.

His soul is incomplete, like a human without limbs or head, without ears, tongue, or nose.

An incomplete soul cannot be summoned, cannot express its thoughts or grievances. Precisely because of this, Chi You's resentment boils over. His ghost aura draws the celestial master Feng Li from the novel; with Feng Li's help, Chi You cultivates and takes revenge on the original host.

Jiang Luo's timing is poor, but fortunately there's still time before the revenge arc.

Right now he's exploiting the fact that the dead cannot speak, cannot be summoned to name their killer—using it to clear his name.

If it were only about piquing that madman's interest, he'd wager: someone secretly in love with Chi You might not interest him, but someone claiming Chi You was secretly in love with them—that would definitely intrigue even a vengeful ghost.

More importantly—if Chi You secretly loved him, and the living believe it, then even if Chi You comes to kill him, to others it won't look like vengeance but a killing born of Chi You's love.

The living will protect the innocent Jiang Luo. At the very least, he's bought himself time to survive and grow stronger.

Lu You and Ye Xun are completely dumbfounded.

They exchange glances. Lu You mutters, incredulous: 'Ye Xun, do you think he's playing us?'

Ye Xun says flatly: 'What's the point of playing us? He didn't even see us.'

After a thought, Ye Xun adds: 'Jiang Luo is stupid and vicious. Not laughing at the funeral would be a stretch—do you really think he'd cry that hard on purpose?'

Lu You wipes his face hard. 'But do you think it's possible? Chi You-ge confessing to Jiang Luo?' He points at Jiang Luo, incredulous. 'You think Chi You-ge would go for someone like…'

Looking at Jiang Luo's even more beautiful face after crying, Lu You's words die in his throat. He quietly lowers his hand. '…When did they get together?'

Ye Xun: 'He just said he once rejected Chi You's confession. Lu You, when did Jiang Luo and Chi You have their falling-out?'

'Over a month ago.' Lu You, led along, starts believing Jiang Luo, filling in details himself. 'No wonder. This past month Jiang Luo's been cursing Chi You-ge behind his back, trying to hex him—probably because Chi You-ge confessed and Jiang Luo got embarrassed and angry. Now Chi You-ge is dead, and he regrets it, realizes he actually liked him too… God, that's fucking melodramatic.'

Calling it drama, Lu You's eyes are already glistening. He blows his nose, wipes his tears with practiced ease. 'Ye Xun, this is too tragic.'

Lu You is the type to sob through trashy idol dramas. Ye Xun is used to it; instead, he's interested in the Jiang Luo-Chi You gossip. 'He just said he'd find the killer and bring Chi You back to his side.'

Lu You shudders. 'He's going to do a Soul Summoning too?'

While they talk, Jiang Luo has already cut through the crowd and stands before Lu You and Ye Xun.

Lu You and Ye Xun look at him with complicated feelings, never considering Jiang Luo might be acting.

Act? For what?

Just summon Chi You-ge's soul and ask—the simplest thing. No one thinks Jiang Luo would lie about this.

Lu You can't help asking: 'Jiang Luo, you're doing a Soul Summoning too?'

Jiang Luo nods slowly. 'I'm doing a Soul Summoning.'

Lu You and Ye Xun exchange a glance.

Daring a Soul Summoning proves he has nothing to hide, that his words aren't lies.

Lu You wasn't actually close to Chi You. Or rather, no one at this funeral really knew Chi You.

Chi You was clearly warm and approachable, yet he never had anyone truly close. Lu You's feelings toward Chi You were mostly admiration and reverence. Once he realizes Jiang Luo isn't the killer and might even be the one Chi You loved, his attitude toward Jiang Luo softens at once.

But he'd just been rough with Jiang Luo moments ago—awkward now. Lu You mumbles: 'So the killer really wasn't you. Sorry, I misunderstood before. Don't worry—when Chi You-ge's Head Seventh Day comes, we'll know who the killer is.'

Jiang Luo thanks him through tears.

In his heart: sorry to disappoint, but Chi You-ge's soul can't be summoned on the Head Seventh Day.

Jiang Luo glances at the coffin one last time. 'Weren't we going to handle the commission at Hotel 129? Let's go now.'

The three of them are all students in Class 01 of the Natural Science and Social Research program at Baihua University.

This major is only established for the Xuanxue Person; ordinary people do not know of its existence. The major has only one class, and there are eight students in the class.

The reason they could leave campus this time was to take on a commission for credit—they'd specifically carved out time to pay respects to Chi You.

Jiang Luo is eager to see the supernatural events of this new world; an urgency drives him to grow stronger fast. 'Before, I was unambitious, content with small progress. Now, wanting to avenge Chi You, I realize what I have isn't enough…'

He uses this as an excuse for his personality change. 'I need to get stronger to avenge Chi You. Starting with Hotel 129, I leave my old self behind.'

Lu You admires such forward-charging people. Blood rushes to his head; he claps Jiang Luo's shoulder. 'That's the spirit, brother!'

Ye Xun tweaks the rabbit's ears, watching Jiang Luo with the look one gives a prodigal son returning. 'Starting to change now isn't too late.'

Jiang Luo forces a smile. 'No. It's already too late.'

The three stand in melancholy for a moment, then quietly slip out of the crowd.

At the door, a pot-bellied old man suddenly reaches out to grope Jiang Luo. Lu You, eyes in the back of his head, yanks Jiang Luo aside. 'What are you doing?'

The pot-bellied man's philtrum is short and narrow, dull and dark—the look of a man drained of kidney essence by excess. His gaze shifts evasively. 'I wasn't doing anything.'

Jiang Luo, behind Lu You, narrows his eyes at him.

Ye Xun, holding the rabbit plush, suddenly leans down to its mouth. 'What—you say this man's sinews don't bind bone, his pulse doesn't govern flesh, showing the 'ghost-agitated' physiognomy, and he'll meet a violent death soon?'

The pot-bellied man stiffens. 'What nonsense!'

He wants to curse back, but meeting Ye Xun's eyes, the words die. Ye Xun's eyes are black, lightless—suddenly the old man is covered in gooseflesh. He has the intuition: this person's words are true. He really will meet a violent death.

Lu You pushes Jiang Luo along, cursing. Ye Xun follows unhurriedly, drawling: 'Oh, so Little Pink got it wrong. This man just has Black Mist curling around his nose root—misfortune clinging to him, that's all.'

The old man exhales long, comes back to himself—only to find his legs have gone weak.

Outside, Jiang Luo says: 'Ye Xun, didn't expect you'd stand up for me like that.'

Ye Xun drawls: 'No need to thank me. But if you'd tell me the story between you and Chi You, I'd love to hear it.'

Lu You's eyes light up; he turns to stare at Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo thinks for a moment, fingers twirling his black hair. He quickly pieces together plots from various idol dramas and novels, then begins to warm to the task.

He looks up at the overcast sky, sighs. 'It's a long story.'

'Chi You… actually loved me deeply.'